Cinemann September 2010 by Cinemann

September 2010

Cinemann

Table of Contents 4 Summer 6 Inception Movie Recap

The Big C

Rent

Summer Television

The Emmy Awards Cinemann 2

Cinemann: Volume VI, Issue 1

Editors in Chief

Associate Editors

Andrew Demas Maggie Reinfeld

Katie Cacouris, Tucker Caploe, Jessica Chi, Zoe Kestan,

Senior Editors

Staff Writers Alice Taranto, Sam Torres, Charles Sherr, Emma Specter

Matt Taub Alexandra Saali Faculty Advisor

Deborah Kassel

Contributing Writers

Rachel Buissereth, Anise Charles, David Feuerstein, Jacob Frackman, Abigail Greenbaum, Bennett Heller, Noah Margulis, Jay Palekar, Savannah Smith, Rachel Simerka-Smith, Henry Warder

Letter From the Editors

Dear Reader, Welcome back!! We are so thrilled to present you with the first issue of Cinemann, Horace Mann’s film and arts magazine. As you sift through the pages, we hope you plunge into the joys of this summer’s movies and art. Inside you will find an array of reviews. Beginning with a look at summer’s highest grossing blockbusters, as well as its unexpected flops, we will also bring you up to date with reviews of summer television and theater. Cinemann delves into how the innovative plots of the brilliantly crafted Inception and the raunchy comedy Jersey Shore have transfixed viewers. Comedy seemed to rule at the 2010 Emmy Awards, and we are here to show you why. Inside we recount the night’s biggest moments and evaluate the decision behind the results. We round out this issue with a review of Neil Patrick Harris’ revival of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, exploring the very nature of the challenges involved in restaging a classic. We hope you enjoy it. If you would like to write for Cinemann please contact us! We look forward to keeping you apprised of Hollywood’s best. See you all at the movies!! Yours Truly, Andrew Demas and Maggie Reinfeld Cinemann 3

o M r e m Sum By Matt Taub

This past summer, it seemed that audiences had a taste for sequels. Titles such as Shrek Forever After, Sex and the City 2, Toy Story 3, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and Step Up 3D all performed well at the box office, as did blockbusters like Inception and The A-Team. Many films found universal praise among critics, also, something generally quite rare for the summer movie season. Overall, it was a successful and interesting summer at the movies, with studio executives cashing in on their investments and audiences feeling they had gotten their money’s worth: •Shrek Forever After: In the final installment in the Shrek series, Shrek finds himself conflicted and falls for Rumplestiltskin’s trap to have him erased from existence. The film was an enormous box office success, grossing more than

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$500,000,000 of what it cost to make. The film was good, but like Shrek the Third before it, it failed to retain the magic of Shrek and Shrek 2. •Sex and the City 2: The girls take a vacation to Abu Dhabi where they encounter Samantha’s ex. This sequel grossed more than twice what it cost, making it a commercial success, but it nearly universally failed with critics. •Prince of Persia The Sands of Time: A prince and princess must obtain a dagger currently being held by an owner unaware of its ability to reverse time. The thriller grossed over $328,000,000 and proved to be a mindless but fun popcorn flick. •Letters to Juliet: After discovering a series of love letters, an American tourist vacationing in Italy sets off to identify the letter’s subjects. The low-budget ro-

mantic comedy pulled in an impressive $65,000,000+ while fairing mildly with critics. •Killers: A newlywed couple is unnerved to discover their neighbors may be assassins assigned to kill them. While grossing just enough to pay off its budget, Killers was an enormous disappointment in every way. •The A-Team: Four Iraq veterans venture to prove they were framed for a crime they did not commit. Even if they had failed to do so, 20th Century Fox wouldn’t mind the more than $152,000,000 the film made. Unfortunately, audiences weren’t all that thrilled. •Toy Story 3: In the tear-jerking conclusion to one of the world’s best-loved series, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toys find themselves in a dangerous daycare center as their owner prepares to

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leave for college. The film is one of the year’s best so far and it made almost $1 billion. •The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The third installment in the Twilight series, Eclipse follows series protagonist Bella as she chooses between the two creatures, Edward and Jacob, vying for her affection. Eclipse kept the Twilight series going strong, earning over $676,000,000 and receiving the best reviews the franchise has received thus far. •Salt: A CIA agent is forced to get a move on after being accused of spying for Russia. While Salt didn’t fail at the box office, it was somewhat of a disappointment for a spy flick starring Angelina Jolie, making less than $200,000,000 and garnering little audience buzz. •Despicable Me: A super-villain begins to change his ways after his three ad-

opted daughters (originally taken in to aid his next crime) overwhelm him with innocence. The low-budget movie was an enormous success, making close to $300,000,000 with a sequel already in the works. Most people found it enjoyable, but I unfortunately can’t agree with them. •Charlie St. Cloud: A young man struggles to accept the fact that his brother has passed away, and visions of him still haunt his thoughts. Despite boasting Zac Efron as its leading man, the film flopped enormously at the box office and did little for audiences. •Eat Pray Love: After a series of romantic disappointments, a woman embarks on a soul-healing, round-the-world journey. Though based on a popular book and starring Julia Roberts, the film did not do well at the box office and left those who saw it wanting more.

•Step Up 3D: Two rival groups of dancers compete for recognition and bragging rights in an intense competition. The film performed fairly well at the box office, pulling in close to $45,000,000 and receiving the best critical reception of the series so far. •The Other Guys: Two cops who never see action outside of the office find themselves at the center of a high-stakes fraud case. The film flopped and was a major, largely unfunny letdown after Ferrell had appeared in consistently hilarious films such as Anchorman and Blades of Glory.. •The Kids Are All Right: In this indie film, the children of a lesbian couple attempt to bring their father into their lives. It was a pleasantly surprising commercial success and has gathered major Oscar buzz.

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I T

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by rachel simerka-smith

Movies in the past have taught us lessons about the value of being able to control one’s reality (i.e. Stranger than Fiction), but Inception takes this concept to a new level. The movie centers on thief Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who doesn’t steal money or valuables; rather, he steals secrets from within a person’s subconscious while they sleep. This ability has placed him in the middle of a new field of work: corporate espionage, forcing him to take business secrets from clients’ rivals and use them for the company. Although this job has become his financial anchor, he has lost most of his life through Inception, and has become an international fugitive. However, he has a chance, through his gift, to escape his troubles and return home to live a normal life. He, along with a group of coworkers (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao) and intern Ariadne (Ellen Page), must enter the subconscious of Saito’s (Watanabe) rival businessman, Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), and not extract ideas, but place them in his head so that they can destroy Fischer’s company. However, the job requires a large number of sedatives and members to risk their lives to plant the idea correctly. The job proves to be more difficult than ex-

pected when the security inside of Fischer’s head tries to take them down. They must succeed or else be trapped in dream limbo forever. Inception balances great action with thoughtful, complex ideas to create one of the best blockbuster hits of the summer. Director Christopher Nolan was able to construct a world for DiCaprio in an easily conceptualized form. Inception also creates a lot of controversy by inspiring unanswered questions, such as how one controls dreams. It asks if people are really in charge of their own lives, or are our lives just combinations of influences. Even at the end, the viewer is still unsure whether Cobb is in a dream or in reality. Those who have criticized the movie are confused by the different layers of the dream and how they work together. For instance, why is it that when Saito is shot, he “dies” and falls into limbo, instead of waking up? Inception challenges mainly two ideas: death and time. In the beginning of the movie, the only way to wake from a dream is to die, such as when Cobb’s wife kills herself to wake up and consequentially kills herself in the process. However, as the movie continues and they plot their way into Robert Fischer’s dream, this way out becomes scrapped, and those who

die in the dream float permanently in limbo. The abrupt change can be confusing to follow, but I, like most viewers, became so absorbed in the complexity that this bridge was overlooked due to the extremely interesting fight scenes in each level of the dream. Another concept the film shows is time. Each level of the dream becomes longer and longer. For example, a second in one level could be a year in another level. Stretching time in this manner can be confusing; however, Nolan pulls it off brilliantly by explaining it multiple times throughout the film. This film is visionary not because it is completely original, but because Nolan strings together very different types of film to build a masterpiece that many people can enjoy deciphering together. Along with the incredible directing, the actors had a lot of chemistry (especially Cobb and Ariadne), and the plot flowed smoothly and quickly, making it one of the most intricate movies of the last few years. True inspiration is impossible to fake, and Christopher Nolan does a brilliant job of showing true inspiration in this mind-blowing blockbuster that has confused and stirred viewers of all ages (over 13, of course).

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Summer Television

Burn Notice

by nicholas demas

Pretty Little Liars

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by rachel buissereth

The newly raved television show Pretty Little Liars surrounds the seemingly perfect lives of five girls who were previously best friends until one (Alison DiLaurentis) suddenly disappears. The remaining friends, Hannah: The Flawed Princess, Spencer: The Overachiever, Emily: The Confused Lesbian and Aria: The Clandestine Lover, fight to keep their secrets from a mysterious character who calls herself A, who tries to expose these four main characters for what they are. As the theme song states, these four girls try their hardest to “lock their secrets in their pocket,” but wicked and clever A always seems to be one step ahead of them. The show also addresses many issues occurring in a teenage girl’s life, such as sexuality, anorexia/bulimia, and the question that every teen asks themselves concerning what the future may hold. Watch Pretty Little Liars to follow the drama and see what happens to the Pretty Little Liars of Rosewood Community.

True Blood

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by alexandra saali

For the fourth season in a row, the explosive spy drama Burn Notice has enchanted viewers with its sexy and dramatic plot line. Ever since his superiors burned him, Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) has been taking various jobs in Miami to support himself and learn more about the people who put him out on the streets. Donovan portrays a suave, intelligent, and cunning spy whose qualities resemble the world famous James Bond. Michael is supported by a team that includes his ex-girlfriend, Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), who has an astonishin love for C4 and automatic rifles and often appea less than fully clothed throughout the show, Sa Axe, an ex-Navy Seal whose connections throug out the government get Michael out of many heate situations, and Michael’s loyal, smoking addi mother, Madeline. This season focused on a ne team member, Jesse Porter, who Weston accide tally burned at the end of season three. Jesse work closely with Michael only to discover that Micha in fact is the one who burned him and vows to tak revenge. In a nail biting summer season finale, Je se saves Michael’s life by shooting through him kill the enemy. As the episode comes to an end, w see Michael slowly loosing consciousness while l ing in a pool of his own blood. One thing is for sur the new episodes in November will bring only mo drama to the action that is unfolding.

Upon the creation of True Blood, a synthetic version of human blood, vampires revealed their existence publicly. As a result, these “mythical” monsters evolved overnight into fellow citizens. This terribly sexy, screamingly gross HBO hit series chronicles the conflicts arising alongside vampire assimilation while provoking viewer commentary on racial, ethnic, sexual, religious and class divisions. The delicious cast and eliciting topics addressed on True Blood almost tripled the show’s original audience size. Entering its third season now, the focus has shifted from localized conflicts to worldwide vampire affairs. In response to a growing gay and lesbian fan base, the newest central character is Russell Edgington, the gay vampire King of Mississippi, who demands vampire supremacy over the human race. Despite an intriguing plot, True Blood seems dangerously close to peaking, as it adds nearly a dozen new characters to an already crowded cast list.

by emma specter

by katherine kobylarz

Considered by some to be the ultimate summer show, Jersey Shore takes a flock of young and misguided Italian-Americans and throws them into a house, so audiences can follow their sexual exploits and melodramatic scandals. In a style similar to many other current reality shows, there is almost no plot line, but rather “situations” that arise within the group of people stuck together in the house. The second season of the hit show, which aired this July, starts with a move to the beaches of Miami, Florida, although the name of the show remained, somewhat confusingly, the same. However, the drama between cast members remained virtually constant, including the continued relationship between Ronnie and Sammi, and the return of Angelina after her early departure on the previous season. Out of all the cast members, “Snooki”, aka Nicole Polizzi, has been the closest to achieving national fame due to her over the top personality and her infamous “poof”. She has been featured in several magazines as well as spoofed on Saturday Night Live, making her possibly the most publicized housemate on the show. Despite its short time on air, much controversy has surrounded the show, fu el ed predominantly by its exaggerated associations with Italian culture and its flag, while representing only a small, atypical percent of the population. Jersey Shore is likely to remain in its post as one of the most watched shows on television for the remainder of the season, if not longer. Who’s ready for Jersey Shore 3?

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Mad Men

Jersey Shore

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Sept. 22n Grey’s Anatomy

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House

The greatly anticipated fourth season of AMC’s Emmywinning series Mad Men returned to TV this summer, surrounded by the steadily increasing buzz that’s followed the show ever since its first season. The radical changes that took hold of Mad Men’s fictional 1960s New York advertisingagency setting, Sterling Cooper, at the end of Season 3 have been developed throughout the new season’s run. At the end of last season, the show’s stoic anti-hero protagonist, Don Draper, and a choice few of his coworkers – the heavy-drinking, blithely offensive fan favorite Roger Sterling, the increasingly successful, increasingly ruthless secretary-turned-copywriter Peggy Olson and the earnest-yet-calculating account man Pete Campbell – abandoned Sterling Cooper to form a new ad agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Season 4 follows the progress of the new agency while systematically undoing much of what the show’s premise rested on in previous seasons. Don Draper is no longer portrayed as a mysterious, dapper hero, but rather as a lonely single man devolving into genuine alcoholism. His once-picture-perfect family has dissolved, with his former wife, Betty, married to a new man, and Draper’s children, particularly his daughter Sally, feel the effects of their parents’ difficult divorce. Some critics have speculated that Mad Men is succumbing to the “fourth-season slump” that has plagued many successful dramas. However, the show’s ability to seamlessly cover new ground and explore new sides of its characters while still retaining its signature sparking dialogue and high level of visual sophistication suggests that Mad Men is here to stay.

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Glee

Sept. 21s

NCIS

Modern Family

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The Emmy Awards Oh What A Night

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ments, Levitan and Christopher Lloyd won the subsequent award for their writing of Modern Family. Stephen Colbert introduced the award for supporting actress, which Jane Lynch won for her hilarious role as Sue Sylvester. Matthew Perry and Lauren Graham presented the award for best director, which went to Glee’s Ryan Murphy. The show then cut to a sketch concerning ways to improve Modern Family. Cameos by Stewie (Family Guy) and George Clooney made it an enjoyable moment for everyone, as did several humorous suggestions alleged in the clip. Comedy finished with wins for Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) and Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) for lead actor and actress in a comedy show, respectively. Awards for Reality TV followed, naming Top Chef as best reality show. After an enticing montage, the awards for best supporting actor and actress in a Drama went to Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife). The writers of Mad Men and director of Dexter also won in their respective categories. Fallon then sung his goodbyes to 24, Lost and Law and Order, parodying songs by Elton John, Boyz II Men and Green Day. To round out the Drama category, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) won as the Outstanding Lead Acnyt

Following a successful red carpet event, the 2010 Emmy Awards began its night with a sketch parodying the mega-hit show Glee. In the skit, Emmy host Jimmy Fallon discovered that four of the show’s main cast members (Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer and Amber Riley) couldn’t afford to attend the awards ceremony. In typical Glee fashion, the group decided to raise the money by participating in a choir competition. A chase through the building ensued, and the cast attempted to recruit new members to their choir. They encountered many of television’s current big names, such as Tina Fey (30 Rock), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), and many others. The skit allowed for several amusing moments, such as Hamm’s dance lessons with Betty White and Glee’s own Jane Lynch throwing her drink at Fey and Fallon. The actors burst onto stage singing Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”, receiving thunderous applause. By this time, other familiar faces such as Kate Gosselin (Jon & Kate Plus 8 and Dancing With the Stars), Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries) and Jorge Garcia (Lost) had joined their ranks, and later Randy Jackson joined them to finish up the number. Fallon comically sang in the Comedy section with Community star Amy Poehler. A montage of funny moments followed, and then Jon Hamm and Betty White gave Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. After Fallon earned a few laughs by reading twitter com-

emmy

by abigail greenbaum

tor and Outstanding Lead Actress. The otherwise well-paced night lagged aft Drama, covering less popular categories befo the last half hour of excitement. For Variety T The Tony Awards won, as did the Vancouv Olympics, and The Daily Show earned yet a other Emmy. Before the Miniseries and Mov category, Julianna Margulies presented an awa to George Clooney for his civic service endea ors. Temple Grandin won for best miniseries an The Pacific for best movie. Emmys were als given to actors Al Pacino, Clare Danes and Jul

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Gleefully Successful

Ormond, amongst others. Singer Jewel played during the traditional tribute for actors who had died in the past year, and the audience honored them with a video tribute. Presented by Tom Selleck and Ted Danson respectively, the highly anticipated awards for Outstanding Drama Show and Outstanding Comedy Show went to Mad Men and Modern Family. The 2010 Emmy Awards concluded on as high a note just as it began, every actor excited to commence with another year in television.

With a long needed, and now answered, revival of comedy on television, this year’s Emmy Awards was one filled with excitement. It wasn’t even winning that mattered for many of these big-hearted shows. Rather, the recognition of having sprung out from nowhere and filling the gap that had been left by 90s and early 00s comedy seems enough. One of the big winners at the Emmys was the hilarious new show Modern Family, a “mockumentary” recording the lives of three different families. Each family is unique in respect to the traditional model of a nuclear American family. Almost everyone can find something in it that they can relate to their own family, which is one of the main reasons for the show’s success. It was nominated for fourteen awards and won six, including Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series. Other great winners include the misfit choir group, Glee, winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series, the dark medically humorous Nurse Jackie, winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and the cute CBS show The Big Bang Theory, which won Outstanding Lead Actor in a

Comedy Series. The Awards also recognized many drama shows that have continued to keep us in suspense this year. It was no surprise when veteran show Mad Men won the awards for Outstanding Drama Series, for its third consecutive year, and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. The series is about the personal and professional lives of advertising men, who coined themselves “mad men”, in New York City during the 1960s. Praised for its historical accuracy and on-the-dot acting, the series premiered this summer with its fourth season. Other great Drama winners include the AMC drama Breaking Bad, winning awards for Outstanding Leading and Supporting Actors in a Drama Series, and the freaky-but-ever-addictive Dexter, which won Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series. Aside from TV shamelessly plugging itself (which we can forgive), the Emmys is a chance for all TV viewers to celebrate our favorite shows for all the reasons we love them, whether it be for the characters, plots, art, or direction. And now after the Emmys, we can watch our shows this coming fall with renewed fervor. Summer is over, Horace Mann, but the season premieres are looming.

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The Real Winners and Losers

by alexandra saali

Surprisingly there are more “bests” than “worsts” from this year’s Jimmy Fallon-hosted Emmy telecast. In addition, lots of fan favorites actually took home awards! The Real Winners (Bests): Jimmy Fallon •Fallon was delectable, hysterical and kept the show running on schedule. •Best Quote: “Our next presenters are Matthew Perry and Lauren Graham. Graham ... graham cracker ... Teddy Grahams ... teddy bears, bring it back to Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President ... President, the White House, ‘The West Wing’ ... who guest starred on ‘The West Wing’ three times? Matthew Perry. How do you like me now?” •Best Getup: Fallon dressed up as Elton John, Boyz II Men, and Green Day to pay homage to ‘24,’ ‘Law & Order’ and ‘Lost.’ Opening Number •The celeb-studded opening musical number – a spoof of ‘Glee’ – became a Youtube sensation over night. Watching Tina Fey, Jon Hamm and Jorge Garcia in the same songand-dance number was nothing short of awesome. •America learned that Lost’s Hurley can sing and dance, and since he needs a job, I’d like to cast him on Glee. AMC •WhatAMC lacks in total viewers, it makes up for in Emmy acclaim. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul won in the lead and

supporting actor categories, while Mad Men stole statues for writing and best drama. 20th Century Fox •20th Century Fox was awarded a slew of Emmys for Glee and ABC’s Modern Family. Ryan Murphy picked up an early win for best comedy directing, while crowd favorite Jane Lynch walked away with the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy. For the icing on the cake, Modern Family scored statuettes in the writing, supporting actor, and best comedy categories. Showtime •Showtime had a record-setting year at the Emmys. Nurse Jackie (best lead actor in a comedy went to Edie Falco) and Dexter (best directing for a drama went to Steve Shill) picked up statuettes at Sunday’s telecast. *HBO, the big giant, still cleaned up in the movie and mini-series category with Temple Grandin, You Don’t Know Jack and The Pacific. Top Chef •Top Chef beat out The Amazing Race as well as the country’s number one show, American Idol, for the best reality competition show Emmy. Broadcast Comedy •Glee (Fox), Modern Family (ABC) and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory cleaned up in the comedy categories, showing you can laugh with, not just at, broadcast television.

The Real Losers (Worsts): Lost •The series that broke the sci-fi curse by accepting the best drama award in 2005 was beat out by category veteran Mad Men. Perhaps the crew from Lost can let their audience size, usually more than five times as big as a typical Mad Men airing, serve as a consolation prize. Conan O’Brien •O’Brien and his short-lived Tonight Show staff had the opportunity to get the last laugh on the very network that cancelled their show. Instead, the Emmy went to the now eight-time winner The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. NBC’s Thursday Comedy Block •Neither 30 Rock nor The Office nor increasingly funny Parks and Recreation, all of which were nominated in a major category, walked away winners Sunday evening. •NBC was the only big broadcast network not to win an Emmy in any of the original series categories. Broadcast Drama •Despite the best efforts of broadcast hopefuls such as Lost, The Good Wife and Friday Night Lights, Emmy night proved that quality drama lives on cable. Julia Ormond? •“It takes a village to make a child, and it takes a cast and crew to make a film,” says Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie winner Julia Ormond (‘Temple Grandin’). Earth to Julia: It doesn’t take a whole village to “make” a child.

Television’s Best On the Red Carpet

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by alexandra saali

Subways, busses, cabs- no matter what form of transportation I chose, I could not avoid adds for Showtime’s new series The Big C. I shamefully admit being disappointed when commercials revealed the C stood for cancer. In the spirit of adlibbing, I’d inserted a far “dirtier” word that started with C. Perhaps I had been watching too much of True Blood’s risqué third season? Despite the lack of immediate sex appeal, Showtime’s mass advertising paid off. Drawing 1.2 million viewers, The Big C set a ratings record for the network. This was Showtime’s largest audience (myself included) in eight years for an original series premiere. We’re not in the examining room with Cathy (played by 3-time-Oscarnominee Laura Linney) when she’s told that she has incurable melanoma. In fact, the first episodes do not focus on her disease at all. Instead, the audience is bombarded with tragically comedic snippets of Cathy’s average suburban life, and we are left with numerous questions. For instance: Why was Cathy’s husband kicked out of their home? Why is her son so detached

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from her? Why is she particularly interested in one of her overweight black students? Why has she forgone treatment? And most importantly, why has she not told anyone about her cancer? However, the acting is superb. Laura Linney is almost guaranteed a 2011 Emmy Award. My only query: will she win for best dramatic actress or comedic one? Living up to the shows difficult promise- to provide a comedic spin on cancer- Linney shines in both categories as an actor. Other members of the strong cast include the hysterical Oliver Platt and the chilling Phylisse Sommerville. I believe the casting director deserves a round of applause. Extolment for Showtime’s courage is also in order. The networks’ willingness to air a show that confronts a very tough subject is commendable. I wish Showtime the best of luck. A comedy about tragedy is hard to pull off. Although I am sympathetic to this difficult feat, I cannot silence my concerns about the show. Firstly, there is the barrage of questions fired too quickly at the unprepared audience. I personally have no interest in discover-

ing their answers when I am not yet attached to a single character. According to fan reviews, I am not alone in my feelings about the show. In a 30-minute airtime, every minute counts; although I understand the rush to get the ball rolling, the show begs for character relationships to be developed. Too many people have been introduced and not a single character-viewer bond has been forged yet. In addition, I fear Cathy’s secrecy will prevent this bond from being formed until the END of the season. Then, it will be too late, and I will have lost all interest. I have cause to validate my concern. AMC’s first season of Breaking Bad followed a man suffering from lung cancer who kept the news from his family for an unrealistically long time. The concept of secrecy left viewers increasingly anxious as the series progressed, and the same issue almost ruined Showtime’s Nurse Jackie. “It’s unfair to the other characters, and it’s unfair to viewers, who are blocked from fully getting to know them.”- Nancy Franklin The New Yorker.

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by katie cacouris

I’ve always found it a little challenging to watch new cast members in a Broadway show I have already seen and enjoyed, because at their best, each actor casts a slightly different light on the character they are embodying, and at their worst, the actors do not understand or effectively convey their characters and can ruin a production. One day, you think you totally understand a show, and another, Anita in West Side Story suddenly isn’t mean-spirited. One of the best things about being able to see a Broadway show is the fact that it’s live. Being right in front of actors as they pour themselves into their characters yields a certain vibrancy that is lost on film, even when Spike Lee directs a filming of the show (as he did for Passing Strange a few years ago). The director decides what character the viewer should be paying attention to, and even Dolby Surround Sound can’t compare to the experience of being in the presence of a live orchestra and actors. Unfortunately, the nature of a live show means fewer people can see it. On any given day, hundreds of thousands of people can watch the filmed version of RENT; on Broadway, a little under two thousand. So when a show makes its way to another city across the country for only three days, it is especially important that the cast and creative team present not only

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themselves, but the show at its most pure and original form, since this will probably be most people’s first and only live exposure to the show. Neil Patrick Harris volunteered himself as up to the task, directing a production of RENT in West Hollywood that lasted for three days in August. Overall, he did a good job of putting the musical on in a concert setting—outdoors and with many more audience members than a Broadway venue would allow. Actors convey characters—the actor Wayne Brady hasn’t lost his partner when he sings “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)”; Brady’s character, Tom Collins, has. Now that isn’t to say that Jesse L. Martin (the original Collins) and Wayne Brady must bring the same nuances to Tom Collins’ character. However, a theatergoer should expect (and a production should deliver) actors who stay true to a general development that the writer(s) created. Roger, the musician who has become apathetic towards life after being diagnosed with AIDS, is played by Aaron Tveit, a young but relatively experienced stage actor. Tveit has a very melodic singing voice, but the tone of his phrases doesn’t match up with the character’s personality. Harris should have told Tveit to cut his phrases a little shorter so as to portray Roger as

more weary of his life. He still puts forth convincing Roger, although the charact is not as jaded as someone familiar wi the show might hope for. However, Tveit acting portrays a Roger that would be f miliar to any “RENT-head.” He manage to gracefully stomp around stage, his fac and body so expressive—trying to kee himself from enjoying life too much, sinc he knows he might die in the near future. As Mimi, Vanessa Hudgens is whin and inexperienced. However, her portray seems to be less of a character choice an more of an acting mistake. While som might use the above adjectives to describ the Mimi, Hudgens is out of tune durin most of her songs and looks too excited be on the stage, repressing her own smi throughout the performance. It seems as though Hudgens was ca only because of her fame, not talent. In stead of watching Mimi plead with Rog during “Another Day,” it looks like Van essa Hudgens is pleading with Roger, sing ing words that aren’t her own (and note that are not in the music). So, one of the three non-musical c lebrities didn’t know what she was do ing. But Nicole Scherzinger (of Th Pussycat Dolls) and Wayne Brady, on th other hand, seemed to have fully throw their whole selves into Maureen and To

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Collins, respectively. (For proof, search Wayne Brady’s “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)” on YouTube.) Had this production been my first introduction to RENT, I know I would have loved it. And to someone familiar with the show, it was still a good interpretation of it, with cast members, who, for the most part, were extremely talented and convincing. Except for Vanessa Hudgens, of course. broadwayworld

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Note: You can watch most of this production of RENT on YouTube, if you search around enough.

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